Archive for 2015
Apple Watch to Account for 36% of Apple's Calendar Revenue in 2015
According to the latest report from the Evercore analyst Rob Cihra, the long-anticipated Apple Watch will account for as many as 36% of Apple's calendar revenue in 2015. The company from Cupertino will reportedly sell 18.5 million Apple Watch units this year and 22.9 million in 2016. As you probably know, the smartwatch is expected to be released either in February, or a bit later in March.
Top 10 Stories of the Week
It is Sunday today and that means it is high time we talked about the most interesting posts of the last seven days. Although due to all kinds of holidays last week was rather boring, there’re still some articles worth your attention. Let’s take a look at them.
Bank of America Promotes Apple's iPhone 6 and Apple Pay in New Ad
Bank of America has recently released a new ad highlighting the iPhone 6 and Apple Pay. In such a way one of the largest banks in the USA has joined the army of banks and retailers that promote the NFC-based payments service created by the guys from Cupertino and launched in the United States of America back in October.
In the short clip, which is available below, Apple Pay is called "the new, easy, secure, smart way to pay with a simple touch." Well, after watching the ad it is very difficult not to agree with this statement, don’t you think so?
Apple Expands Its 'Start Something New' Campaign to Retail Stores [Images]
Yesterday I told you about the new campaign called “Start Something New” and its launch on Apple’s websites in the USA and in a number of countries of Europe and Asia. According to the latest reports from reliable insiders, the guys from Cupertino have begun expanding the campaign to their retail stores across the globe. Below you may see some photos taken at one store presumably in the USA.
Apple Raises Developer Program Subscription Fee and Product Prices in Several Countries
The guys from the Cupertino have recently raised prices for their developer programs in a number of European countries. The reporters from an Apple-related German blog called Apfelpage write that German developers now should pay as many as €99 ($119) for the developer subscription for one year. Earlier those who wanted to develop apps for Apple’s gadgets had to pay €80 ($96), so the change in pricing is quite noticeable, I must admit.
Digital Music Sales Fell 9%, Streaming Services Saw 54% Growth
While streaming music services are gaining popularity, digital music sales continue to fall. According to the latest statistics published by a research firm Nielsen SoundScan, streaming services, which offer music and music-related video content saw a 54% growth in 2014. As to the amount of digital albums sold through world’s largest online stores, it fell 9% last year.
'Lucky Bag' Promotion Takes Place in Japan, Customers Are Happy
The stores are closed, which means that one more “Lucky Bag” promotion in Japan is over. Most of the customers, who decided to risk and spend about $300 on sealed Fukubukuro packages, managed to obtain such goods as Apple TV set-top boxes, external battery packs, backpacks, iPods, Beats headphones and iTunes gift cards. Moreover, some of the Japanese shoppers were lucky enough to get Apple’s iMac, MacBook Air or iPad Air.
Apple Expanded Its 'Start Something New' Campaign to New Countries
As you probably know, back in December, Apple launched its Start Something New campaign in Japan. The aim of this campaign is to show works of art users can create with the help of Apple’s Macs, iPhones and iPads and such products as VSCO Cam, Brushes, Slow Shutter, iDraw, Waterlogue, iMovie, Procreate and Final Cut Pro. Looks like the guys from Cupertino have decided to expand their new art campaign worldwide as now it can be found on Apple websites across the globe. In particular, the new section of the website was spotted by the users in the USA, Europe and Asia.
TSMC May Still Become Apple's Main A9 Chip Supplier?
Although in December it was reported that Samsung had already began the production of the next-generation A9 processors for Apple, a couple of days a new rumor appeared on the Internet suggesting that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) may actually become tech giant’s main chip supplier. According to what people familiar with the matter write, TSMC demonstrates higher production yield and that is the key factor that can possibly make Apple give most of the orders to produce A9 chips to Taiwanese manufacturer.
Samsung Customers Are More Satisfied with Their Smartphones than Apple Customers
According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, Samsung users are more satisfied with their gadgets than Apple users. In particular, the satisfaction rate grew 6.6% over the last 12 months to 81%. If to speak about Apple, it saw a 2.5% decrease in customer satisfaction in 2014. “Only” 79% of users are fully satisfied with their iPhones.
iPhone 6 Users Can't Add Cards to Apple Pay After They Restore Their Smartphones
According to the latest complaints that may be found on Apple Support Communities website, a number of users have encountered with an issue with Apple Pay that prevents them from adding a new card to the service after restoring the iPhone 6. The problem is reportedly connected with the security settings of Apple Pay aimed at protecting sensitive data from thieves as well as with some flaws in the hardware and software of Apple’s handsets.